MAPLE PRODUCTION IS PART OF THE HERITAGE OF PA ROUTE 6
PA Route 6 Celebrates Maple Month

The production of maple syrup and maple by-products us not just a hobby along the PA Route 6 Heritage Corridor; it os part of the traditions and folk life of the northern tier of Pennsylvania. Each year in early spring, maple producers throughout the state begin tapping the maple trees and producing a sweet sugary treat, known as Maple Syrup. The PA Route 6 Alliance is proud to honor this tradition, naming March as Maple Month.

The use of maple syrup in reipes has evolved over the years, making the sweet substance not just a breakfast staple anymore. Across Route 6, you will find restaurants using maple syrup in main courses, like maple spare ribs and maple-soy salmon, or to make a special martini or frappe. Maple syrup is an added boost for baking and canbe turned into a glaze for fruits.

Various maple products are available. Of course, you can take home a gallon or two of maple syrup, but why not try some of the maple sugar rubs, maple covered nuts and popcorn or maple flavored mustards. At Bell's Meat & Poultry in Kane, you will find an assortment of maple related products, including homemade meats, blueberry maple sausage links and maple beef sticks.

Over the weekend of March 16-18, many maple producers open the doors of their sugarshacks to the public. Here you can learn about the various styles of production and taste test the growing numbers of ways to incorporate aple syrup into your cooking and baking. This is a fun way to tour the countryside within the PA Route 6 Corridor. Some of the tours and events are:

Seventeen sugarhouses in the northwestern counties of Crawford, Erie and Warren, including How Sweet It is Farm and the Hurry Hill Maple Museum, open their doors to the public for the 14th Annual Taste & Tour Weekend. Come and visit with your local maple syrup producers and see "how it’s done." See first hand the process of tapping the maple tree, collecting sap and boiling it down to make delicious syrup. Many maple sugar makers produce additional confections from their syrup. Most have free samples available, as well as products for sale. For more information, call 814-333-1258 or visit http://www.pamaple.org/tour.html . Brochure front brochure back

8th Annual Self-Guided Maple Tour, a tour of maple open houses in the Northeast PA region, predominately in Wayne County but also with stops in Pike and Lackawanna Counties. Enjoy locally produced maple products and learn more about today's producers of maple syrup. You can tour area sugar bushes at your leisure, following the maple syrup making process from the tree to your table. Along the way, pick up some locally produced pure maple products. This event is free to the public. Don't feellike driving, a bus tour is available. Map & Brochure.

A driving tour of maple open houses in the Endless Mountains Region of Bradford and Susquehanna Counties. Watch sap being boiled down, sample maple treats and learn the old age tradition of “sugaring” combined with some new technology. Map & Brochure

The Potter/ Tioga Pennsylvania Maple Weekend is a true tribute to all things maple. The Maple Weekend is a “traveling festival” that allows visitors to observe tree tapping, sugar boiling, and other maple-related activities in Potter and Tioga counties. Fifteen members of the Potter/Tioga Maple Producers Association open their sugar shack doors during Maple Weekend for a deliciously educational experience. For more information, visit www.pamaple.com . Map & Brochure.

This website was financed in part by a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, the Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.